


My Promise to You

by Silverdrift



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Anniversary of loss, Bittersweet, Children, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Sacrifice, childhood doubt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-25
Updated: 2020-04-25
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:35:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23834707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silverdrift/pseuds/Silverdrift
Summary: On the one year anniversary of the alleged assassination of King Dimitri, King Regent Ashe finds in hard not to dwell on the sacrifice that Dimitri made that day... But while tucking in their young daughter for bed... He must face one of the promise he mad to Dimitri as the man laid dying in his arms.
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Ashe Duran | Ashe Ubert
Comments: 2
Kudos: 22





	My Promise to You

**Author's Note:**

> I'm... I'm sorry. My only contribution to Dimiashe is SAD. Sweet. But SAD. If you want some not sad Dimiashe, please check out my fic Forevermore!!! 
> 
> For now, I hope you enjoy this bittersweet offering!

It had already been a year… 

A year since a family outing had ended in the assassination of King Dimitri at the hands of a disgruntled noble and his militia. Well, that was the ruling anyway… but that wasn't expressly true. Assassination implied that Dimitri had been the intended target.

But he wasn't.

In truth, Ashe was the target. It was a noble who had known his past by way of association with Lord Lenato and when his marriage to the king was announced, the noble pitched a fit, saying that Ashe was unfit to be King Consort because of his past life. However, it was ruled that without sufficient evidence to reverse a royal pardon, the wedding would commence. Ashe always told Dimitri that he could have just left, that he didn't want to cause problems… but the King always gave him that soft smile and held him close, whispering those soft, loving things in his ear that silenced the panic in his head.

They were wed and two years after, their daughter, Persephone Lambertine Blaiddyd, was born via a surrogate and it was a day Ashe would never forget. To watch a man of size, strength, and status of Dimitri sit on the floor, holding his little girl and sobbing about how absolutely perfect she was… it was a sight to behold. Of course, Felix had to make a comment on it, teasing Dimitri for being soft, and Ingrid had a fit, but all in all it was probably the best day of Ashe's life.

And losing Dimitri was the worst. 

Persephone was 7, old enough to vaguely recall the event… they left with minimal escort to go see the Dukes Gautier when their carriage was ambushed. The militia was no match for even the small amount of knights they had, but in the end, regardless of their might, it wasn't enough to prevent this tragedy. It was all a blur really, Ashe couldn't have told you exactly what happened, just that one minute he was pulling Persephone from the carriage to get her out of harm's way, and the next… the next Dimitri laid dying in his arms, having taken a fatal blow that was intended for Ashe. The words he said to him… a joke about how he really was too much like his father that Ashe couldn't laugh at, the strained, breathless goodbyes and I love yous… and a promise made. A promise that Ashe would live on, lead their people in his own way until Persephone could take the throne, but most importantly… to please make sure that his little girl always knew how much he adored her just the way she was…

Ashe had only managed in the past few months to get to where he didnt cry himself to sleep at night, dwelling on what happened, blaming himself… and finally started to heal. But today… today everything just came crashing back. It had been a year since Dimitri gave his life to save his… and he was reliving it like it was yesterday.

"Daddy?"

Ashe snapped out of his daze and glanced over his shoulder, looking back at the bed with a smile but continued to lay out his young daughter's clothes for the next day. It was a task that the others in the palace felt was a little beneath him in his position, but he insisted. It was the little things like this that usually kept him from dwelling on things… and kept him close to the most important thing in his life. "Yes, princess?"

"Would papa have been proud of me?"

He stopped then, turning fully to face her with a look of concern on his face. "Of course! He would have been… he would have been so proud of you." The little girl pulled her knees to her chest, making Ashe's stomach twist in pain. He hated seeing her upset, as any father would… but to see that long blonde hair and bright blue eyes that reminded him so much of Dimitri look so sad… it felt as if someone had ripped his still beating heart from his chest and showed it to him. Slowly he moved to sit on the edge of the bed, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her close. It took tremendous effort not to cry, but he somehow managed to control himself, though there was a bit of a waiver to his voice. "W-Why would you think he wouldn't be?"

"In all the stories you tell, papa seems so brave! Everyone loved him and looked up to him! He was just like Loog in that book you read me!" For a moment she lit up again, getting excited remembering all the stories of her late father… but it faded quickly as she drooped once more, looking up at Ashe with a wide eyed stare of distress. "I… I just don't want to disappoint him. Even if he's gone…"

"Persephone… I don't think you could have disappointed him even if you tried." Ashe said gently, petting through her hair. "Hmmm… Oh! I know. Tell me what happened today when you were training with Uncle Sylvain?"

"Huh?" She looked at him with confusion for a moment before thinking back in the day's events, getting really excited once she remembered. "Oh!! Uncle Sylvie was training me with lances so I can use papa's lance one day!"

"Yes! And what happened?"

"You should have seen me, daddy! Uncle Fe and Aunty Mercedes were there too! Uncle Fe told Uncle Sylvie he was being too nice so he sparred with me! And I disarmed him! I disarmed Uncle Felix!"

"That's amazing!" Ashe encouraged. "Now… what if I told you that papa has never been able to disarm your uncle Felix?"

"What? But you said papa was so strong!"

"He was! Your papa was so strong he could pick up Uncle Dedue like it was nothing! He could pick up wagons! Run in heavy armor like it was nothing! But Uncle Felix was always faster." Then Ashe chuckled, ruffling her hair and got to his feet. "You managed to disarm him, that alone would have made your papa the proudest papa in the world. And one day, you will be a wonderful queen… but you want to know what I think will make papa the most proud?"

"Yes!"

Ashe pressed a soft kiss to her head and walked back to her dresser. "Just be yourself. Nothing could make me or papa prouder." He finished laying out the clothes, two outfits as always, a dress and tunic with pants so she could choose her preference when she woke up. "Alright. Do you need anything else before I go?"

"Nope!" She chimed, snuggling down into her blankets. "Nini Daddy!"

"Goodnight, princess. I love you… and you know papa did too."

"I love you too, daddy!"

Ashe smiled and closed the door as he left her room, heading down the hall to his own. He was fine at first, but the moment he reached the room, the very one he once shared with Dimitri… he hesitated a moment, his hand resting loosely on the door handle. Tears welling up in his eyes and he rested his forehead against the door, sniffling softly as he tried to regain his composure. Finally he forced himself to go into the room, shutting the door behind him quickly and leaning against it with his hand in his hair. That's when he let himself cry, sliding down the door to sit on the floor, arms dropping to his sides as he put his head down. "I…" the word came out in barely more than a whisper, voice trembling. "I'm trying, Dimitri… I'm trying so hard to do what you asked of me… b-but I'm struggling… Goddess it hurts… I..." He stopped, trying to make himself breathe though quiet, heartbroken sobs. He cried for a long time, almost until he couldn't anymore before finally picking up his head and looking toward the large painting of Dimitri on the wall. Sniffling softly, he forced himself to his feet and walked over, looking up at it with a sad smile and wiping his face. "I miss you… so much… but I'll… I'll be ok… and I'm going to make your sacrifice worth while… I promise..."


End file.
